Frittata-a-go-go (or handheld breakfast frittatas)

by Patricia Eddy on January 21, 2010

Frittata-a-go-go

There’s very little I don’t love about my job. I get to buy fresh, local ingredients from farmers I respect and admire. I get to cook those foods in new and interesting ways all the time, and I get to eat dishes that are, by and large, great successes. There’s one downside though. I don’t often get the luxury of repeating dishes whenever I please. Most of the recipes we post get play maybe a couple of times a year. Other than the burritos we’ve been making for lunch (recipe as soon as we’ve perfected it), and the dumplings that we make for quick weeknight dinners, we rarely cook a recipe over and over again.

This recipe, however, we’ve been making off and on for three years. It’s our go-to breakfast dish for weekdays when we’re constantly seduced by the snooze button and tarried by traffic. It’s simple to make, extremely portable, and ultimately flexible. It’s also great for those who need a higher protein breakfast, like Mr. Cook Local, who’s diabetic.

The recipe I’m speaking of, if you couldn’t tell by the title of this post, is for Frittata-A-Go-Go, a name we came up with in a fit of genius (or maybe a fit of hunger-induced insanity, depending on your perspective) when we first attempted the recipe. We’ve since made over a dozen variations, tweaking this, adding that, removing that other thing, until we decided we needed a break from these about six months ago. But now that we’re back into marathon training, breakfasts are once again critically important. So we’ve returned to our one true love (well, when we can’t get Frost Doughnuts) and revised the recipe yet again. I think they’re even better now than they were originally.

Add the cream and beat for another 2 minutes. The eggs should be nice and frothy.

In a separate bowl, mix the bacon, onion, powdered pepper, and kale.

Divide the kale mixture into twelve muffin cups.

Pour the egg mixture evenly into the twelve muffin cups.

Top with the cheese (about 1 tsp per egg cup).

Bake for 25 minutes.

Cool and store in a ziplock or a tupperware in the fridge. A paper towel in the bottom of the bag or container helps absorb moisture.

Notes: This new recipe is denser than the former recipe. With the addition of the kale, and the caramelized onions, the egg to filling ratio is a lot smaller. We’ve also eliminated the flour so now these are even gluten-free.

All of the flavors hit you individually. There’s the salty bite from the feta, the sweetness of the caramelized onions, and the slightly bitter-but-in-a-good-way flavor of the kale. I love this new recipe because it has so much variety. the powdered pardon peppers leave a tingling warmth after the frittata is long gone. Plus, adding the kale really helps prevent the one issue I had with these before. They were too moist. Now they’re the perfect texture. You can hold grab one on the way out the door without being worried about getting your hands all greasy.